Banjo attachment



(No Model.)

No. 441,930. Patented Dec. 2, 1890.

g T i A illllllllllllllllfi iml UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM N. BURKARD, OF SHEBOYGAN, \VISCONSIN.

BANJO ATTACH M ENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 441,930, dated December 2, 1890.

Application filed September 9, 1890- Serial No. 364,425. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM N. BURKARD, of Sheboygan, in the county of Sheboygan, and in the State of Visconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Banjo Attachments; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

M y invention relates to attachments for banjos; and it consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts, to be hereinafter described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, and subsequently claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 representsaside elevation of a banjo, partly in section, and provided with my attachment; and Fig. 2 an enlarged view illustrating the banjo-head, rim, and neck-extension in tranverse section, together with said attachment in elevation and partly in section.

Referring by letter to the drawings A represents the neck, B the rim, 0 the head, D the bridge, and E the strings, of an ordinary banjo, said rim being secured to an extension A of said neck.

The parts constituting my device are as follows: A hollow post F has lateral extensions l) 0, respectively, arranged at the top and bottom thereof, the first of these extensions being shown as having its under side provided with spurs (1, this being the preferred construction. A thumb-screw G has its bearing in the lower lateral extension 0 of the post F, and a bearing-plate H is carried on the inner end of said screw. Passed through the post F is a rod I, having an shaped upper end 6 and screw-threaded lower end f, the latter engaging the shank g of the knob J while at the same time said rod is held against rotation by means of a spline 72,, being arranged to engage a groove in said post. Connected to the upper extremity of therod I is a cross-head K, the latter being preferably hung on a pivot 2', as shown in Fig. 2. Fast to the rod I, within the post F, is the lower end of a spiral spring L, and the upper end of this spring opposes the adjacent end of said post.

In practice the upper extension Z) of the post F is opposed to the upper face of the neckextension A of the instrument, and the screw G, actuated to run the bearing-plate II up against the lower face of said neck-extension, whereby my device is firmly clamped in position for use, the spurs d on said upper extensions of the post contributing to this result. The device is always clamped to the neck-extension A of the instrument in such position that the cross-head K on the rod I opposes the head of said instrument immediately be low the bridge D thereof; but said cross-head is normally out of contact with said head.

The instrument being held in the usual way, the knob J on the rod I bears against the person of the performer, and .this knob is made adjustable, as above described, in order to vary the distance from the crosshead K to the lower end of said knob, as the convenience of said performer may determine. Now, by a slight turn of the instrument the cross-head K may be brought against the head of said instrument, as shown in Fig. 2, to modulate the tone, and said cross-head being on a pivot, it will readily adapt itself to any irregularities of the opposing surface. The instrument being turned back to its normal position, the spring L (compressed by the previous operation) will expand and automatically actuate the rod I to bring the cross-head K out of contact with the opposinghead of said instrument.

As the tone of the instrument is modulated in proportion to the amount of pressure eX erted by the cross-head against the opposing head of the instrument, an indefinite number of tones, ranging from fortissimo to pianissimo, may be utilized by the performer in the rendition of his music.

Having thus described my invention, what Iclaim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An attachmentfor banjos that comprises a clamp, a spring-controlled rod adjustable therein, andacross-head on the upper extremity of the rod, substantially as set forth.

2. An attachment for banjos that comprises a clamp, a spring-controlled rod adjustable therein, and a cross-head pivoted to the up- I per extremity of the rod, substantially as set forth.

3. An attachment for banjos that comprises a clamp, a spring-controlled rod adjustable therein, a cross-head on the upper extremity of the rod, and a knob adj nstable on the other extremity of said rod, substantially as set forth.

1. An attach ment for banjos that comprises a hollow post having lateral top and bottom extensions, a screw having its bearing in the bottom extension of the post, a bearing-plate carried by the screw, a spring-controlled rod splined in the post, and a cross-head on the upper extremity of the rod, substantially as set forth.

5. An attachment for banjos that comprises a hollow post having lateral top and bottom extensions, a screw having its bearing in the bottom extension of the post, a bearing-plate \VIL'LIA1\[ N. BURKARD.

\Vitnesses: M. T. BLEWETT,

E. BLEWETT. 

